MS Fram undertakes unique calvados experiment from pole to pole

The MS Fram expedition ship is for the second year running, experimenting to
see the effects that sea travel has on alcoholic drinks, having loaded a barrel
of calvados on its voyages from pole to pole.

Last year, two 150-litre barrels of American oak were filled with 25-year-old Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky and firmly anchored on deck 9 for the long journey around the globe. After bottling, the whisky became available for purchase on-board and is still regularly offered during whisky tasting sessionson-board.

This year, a barrel of 25 year old calvados has been loaded onto the ship and has been crossing the world’s oceans and covering thousands of nautical miles from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle. During its voyage it will cross the equator, Arctic Circle (north and south) and the Prime Meridian.

“We were delighted by the results of the Whisky project last year, which saw a definite improvement in the quality of the single malt after it had been subject to the continuous rolling wave movements, temperature changes and sea air” says MS Fram captain Arild Harvik. “This year we decided to try something slightly different, so are transporting a cask of calvados to ascertain whether it is improved by sea travel to the same degree. Who knows what we will try next year – maybe aquavit?”

At the end of its journey in August, the calvados will be will be transferred into limited edition bottles at 80 degrees north and will then be available for sale on-board.

Prices for a 10 day ‘Norwegian fjords’ voyage on-board the MS Fram start from £2,338 per person, based on two people sharing an inside cabin on full board basis. The trip departs on 1 May and starts and ends from Dover. Hurtigruten are currently offering 50% off the price of the second person when you book a twin cabin, meaning they can travel from £1,169 per person